VANCOUVER - School districts in British Columbia are holding off telling parents the start of classes will be cancelled next Tuesday amid fresh negotiations aimed at stopping the teachers' strike.

In the past few days, the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the employer have met with the education minister and a labour mediator. On Friday, bargaining committees from both sides met at a hotel in Richmond, south of Vancouver.

Jordan Tinney, superintendent of the Surrey School District, has written a letter to parents, saying his district could still manage to open schools if a deal is reached as late as Monday evening.

"If there is a deal even at the last minute, we will do everything possible to open schools right away," Tinney wrote. "We believe we will be able to open doors and begin our opening routines on short notice even if things will be unsettled to start."

He said the B.C. Public School Employers' Association, which bargains for the government, has informed the district the timing of school openings will probably be part of the negotiations with teachers.

The superintendent for the Victoria area, Sherri Bell, said it's unlikely school will start Tuesday, but she said her district won't make a final decision about classes until Monday.

Districts in Richmond and Prince George also said they are not ready to tell parents what they should expect next week.

Monica Pamer, superintendent of the Richmond School District, said she hopes to tell parents whether schools will opening by Monday, but she acknowledged it will be very difficult to say if and when classes begin.

"We're doing our best with this — it's very challenging," said Pamer. "I really appreciate the frustration that parents must be feeling."

Sharel Warrington, the chair of the Prince George school district, said the city's board of education will be watching bargaining developments very closely throughout the long weekend before making a decision on opening schools.

"At this point, it all hinges on the results of the negotiations," she said.

Warrington said it is unclear if schools can be opened on time if a last-minute deal is struck, because preparation time may be needed before classes begin.

Superintendent Dianne Turner of the Delta School District echoed that uncertainty.

"I remain hopeful that a deal will be reached over the weekend, enabling school to start next week," said Turner. "I ask that all families prepare for school to begin the week of Sept. 2 to 5."

On Wednesday, Jim Iker of the teachers' union and government negotiator Peter Cameron met with Education Minister Peter Fassbender in Victoria, who asked both sides to set aside some of the most divisive issues, suspend strikes or lockouts and start mediation.

Cameron and Iker then held what has been called an exploratory talk the following day with labour mediator Vince Ready, who was leading the meeting on Friday.

The B.C. Teachers' Federation confirmed Iker had booked a room in the hotel where the meeting was taking place on Friday.

The province's 40,000 public school teachers went on strike two weeks before the end of the school year, booting half a million students out of class before summer vacation.

The sticking points of the dispute are wages and issues such as class size and composition.

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B.C. Teachers' Strike 2014

Members of the B.C. Federation of Labour and Canadian Labour Congress gather to support teachers outside Cambie Secondary School in Richmond, B.C. on June 2, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Members of CUPE join teachers on the picket line at Mitchell Elementary in Richmond, B.C. on June 2, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Union leaders speak to media on June 2, 2014 in Richmond, B.C. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers picket in West Kelowna on June 2, 2014.

B.C. Teachers' Federal president Jim Iker speaks to teachers outside Princess Margaret School in Surrey on May 29, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers wave to supporters outside Valleyview Secondary School in Kamloops on May 28, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers picket in Kamloops on May 28, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

A student shows support for teachers in Kamloops on May 28, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

A teacher pickets on horseback in 150 Mile House on May 27, 2014.

A sign posted on a classroom door at Vancouver Technical Secondary School. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers rally during rush hour in Kelowna on May 27, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Kelowna teachers wore pink and rallied from the city's overpasses on May 27, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

A sign of support for B.C. teachers from a house in Kelowna. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers in Richmond pass time on the 3:30 a.m. shift on the picket line on May 27, 2014.
Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Students and parents left a message for teachers in Richmond on May 27, 2014. Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

On the picket line with an effigy of B.C. Premier Christy Clark at Kitsilano Secondary School on May 26, 2014.
Click here for stories on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

A student from City School speaks to a teacher on the picket line in Vancouver on May 26, 2014.
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On the picket line at Kitsilano Secondary School on May 26, 2014. Click here for more on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

A teacher on strike at Britannia Secondary School in Vancouver on May 26, 2014. Click here for more on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers stand under the sign for Templeton High School in Vancouver on May 26, 2014. Click here for more on the B.C. teachers' contract dispute.

Teachers on strike speak to a supporter outside Templeton Secondary School in Vancouver on May 26, 2014.

Ryan Tanabe, left, a teacher, and his father Rod Tanabe, a counsellor teacher at Killarney Secondary School, walk the picket line outside the school in Vancouver on May 26, 2014.
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Teachers in the central Okanagan were part of rotating strikes on May 27, 2014. These are educators from Constable Neil Bruce Middle School in West Kelowna.

Supporters of B.C. teachers rally in the Sooke School District.

Surrey teachers pose with their growing pile of marking during the first day of rotating strikes.

Teachers picket in New Westminster on May 26, the first day of rotating strikes in a contract dispute with the province.

Teachers picket in Penticton on May 26, the first day of rotating strikes in a contract dispute with the province.

Anya Prokopeva, 8, a Grade 3 student in New Westminister, and her mom Julie Prokopeva, right, a member of the support staff at Killarney Secondary School, pass by striking teachers as they leave after walking the picket line outside the school in Vancouver on May 26, 2014.

Anya Prokopeva, 8, a Grade 3 student in New Westminister, uses a strike sign for shade rests as her mom Julie Prokopeva, a member of the support staff at Killarney Secondary School, walks a picket line outside the school in Vancouver on May 26, 2014.

One of the earliest picket lines on the first day of the teachers' walkout was in Golden, B.C., which is in the Mountain time zone.

Jim Iker, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, speaks to reporters on May 26, the first day of rotating strikes, at Vancouver's Charles Dickens Elementary.

Jim Iker, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, speaks to reporters on May 26, the first day of rotating strikes, at Vancouver's Charles Dickens Elementary.

Jim Iker, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, speaks to reporters on May 26, the first day of rotating strikes, at Vancouver's Charles Dickens Elementary.

Striking teachers man a picket line outside Killarney Secondary School in Vancouver on May 26, 2014. Public school teachers across British Columbia started rotating strikes Monday, a move that will put more than half a million students out of class for one day each this week.

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan poses with teachers in the Sooke School District.

A rally in Coquitlam on May 25.

Premier Christy Clark's face is seen on anti-bullying T-shirts at a rally in Coquitlam.

Surrey teachers at Johnston Heights Secondary rally on May 23, 2014.

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